In the Rain
by AriaAlways
Summary: Kairi's new, and Sora, being Sora, wants to show her around, much to Riku's disgruntlement. One shot unless I get people wanting a second part. Slightly AU if you squint. For MidnightxAction, happy birthday Midnight D Second Chapter up now!
1. Chapter 1

It was Tuesday.

It was playtime.

And it was three weeks since Kairi had joined the year ½ class that Sora was in.

Selphie, the girl who had assigned herself to show Kairi around, was home sick. The other girls in the class had offered to let her join them, but she had declined, wanting to explore the – to a six-year-old – vast school grounds on her own, now that she knew them well enough.

In her wanderings she had wound up near the bottom of the school, where lot of plants grew along the fence line that separated the school grounds from the row of houses behind.

"Hi Kairi!" Sora exclaimed, beaming. Kairi paused, bemused, before spotting the two blue uniforms in the bushes. She moved closer.

Riku elbowed Sora. "What'd you do that for? Now she knows our secret spot!" He hissed.

"I can keep secrets. I won't tell no one." Kairi said, pushing aside a branch to smile at them.

"…I guess, now she knows…" Riku grumbled. Sora grinned and pulled Kairi inside.

"This's our secret spot! It's far back enough that the teachers can't see, but still close enough for us to get back to class on time." Sora's spiky hair positively quivered with excitement as he showed Kairi everything, from the smooth flat rock they put their water bottles and lunches on, to the tiny nook in the tree that protected a small bag of their treasures. Riku managed to forget his initial opposition and joined in the grand tour.

"This is really cool! You're so lucky to have found this spot." Kairi beamed at them both afterwards.

"Yeah, well you're still only a part member, you're only 'lowed in here if me or Sora's here too." Riku said, holding out his pinky towards her. "Okay?"

"Promise." Kairi said, linking her pinky with his.

"Hey, Riku!" Came a shout from the oval. Riku scrabbled out from the bushes.

"Y'wanna join our team for soccer? Seifer says he can beat anyone!" Wakka called out.

"Sure! We'll beat him good!" Riku called back. "Y'wanna come, Sora?"

"No, I'll stay here with Kairi today. You go squish Seifer like a bug!" Sora exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air. Riku grinned and ran off.

"Oh! That's funny. You said bug and I just found one!" giggled Kairi, pointing to a branch in between their faces. Sora moved closer and followed her finger to a small shiny beetle.

"Isn't it pretty?" She whispered, smiling at it.

"You're not scared of it?" Sora asked, bemused.

"'Course not. What's scary about a little bug?" She replied, just as confused.

"I dunno. I don't think they're scary, but lotsa girls think they are." He returned, watching as the beetle crawled along the branch.

"Oh. Well, I don't like big ones with lotsa legs, but ones like this're okay."

Sora nodded, and they both watched the beetle for another moment.

"Hey look, there's another one here following it!" Sora exclaimed, pointing back down the branch. Kairi turned her head and smiled.

"And another here, Sora! Maybe they're coming to take the secret spot!" Kairi giggled.

"They're huge shiny dragons, coming to destroy our castle!" Sora made up wildly, grabbing a nearby twig and swishing it through the air.

"And eat all our food!" Kairi added, making to protect the leftover cookie crumbs.

"And-and steal the princess!" Sora continued, tentatively jabbing the nearest bug.

Kairi giggled again, grabbing her own twig. "We gotta protect the princess, Sora!"

"No, I gotta! I'm the knight on a horse with a huge sword, and you're the princess high in the tower!"

Kairi frowned. "I can fight them too. I gotta sword as well!"

Sora looked doubtful. "Weeeeeeeell… okay. But only the little dragons! The big ones might hurt you too much."

"But they're all little!" Kairi said with a laugh.

"And they're all gone, too!" Sora exclaimed, pointing with his twig-sword. Sure enough, not a single dragon – or beetle – could be seen there.

"We scared 'em off, Kairi! We're heroes!" proclaimed Sora.

"But we didn't even fight 'em or nothing." Kairi frowned. "Something else musta made them leave."

"Like what?"

As if to answer his question, the dark clouds that had been looming all morning suddenly decided to let loose with all they had. Large drops of rain began falling, racing across the school grounds, sending all the children under the cover of buildings and trees.

"Oh no!" Kairi exclaimed.

"S'ok, Kairi! The tree's so big it keeps the rain away. We just gotta wait for the rain to stop." Sora said, pointing up towards to top of the tree that served as the back of the bush-cave.

"But what if it doesn't stop b'fore then?" She queried, shuffling backwards a little.

"I guess we'll just have to run for it." The two sat in silence for a while, watching as all the students ran towards the buildings for shelter, leaving them the only ones left out in the grounds. Kairi shivered slightly at the lowered temperature.

"You cold?" Sora asked.

"Jus' a little," she replied. Sora moved over a little closer to her.

"Blow on your hands, like this." He said, demonstrating. At once her hands were much warmer.

"Then rub your arms 'n legs with your warm hands and they'll get warmer too." Sora said with a smile. Kairi smiled back as she rubbed her arms.

"Thanks, Sora."

They sat another minute like this, in the comfortable silence that only children seem to have.

"You wanna hear something silly, Sora?" Kairi asked suddenly.

"Sure, like what?" He replied.

"My daddy watched a movie one night, and the girl in the movie said that she wanted her first kiss to be in the rain. She said it'd be more romantic."

Sora laughed. "That is silly! Why'd rain make it romantic?"

Kairi giggled too. "I dunno."

Sora was suddenly quiet, thinking. After a moment he spoke again.

"Do a lot of girls want that?"

"Want what?" Kairi asked.

"To be kissed in the rain. Do you want to be kissed in the rain, Kairi?"

Kairi thought a moment. "Maybe. It might be nice. But boys don't like that sorta thing, so I probably won't be."

"Some boys do. The ones in the movies."

Kairi giggled. "Yeah, but I'd have to be in a movie for them to kiss me!"

"I guess," Sora said. Suddenly a drop fell off a leaf above him and landed on his nose.

"Kairi, how old was the girl in the movie?"

Kairi blinked. "I dunno. Old. Like a teenager, maybe even older."

"Kairi, if no other boy wants to kiss you in the rain when you're a teenager, I will!" Sora grinned.

"What?!" Kairi exclaimed.

"To see if it's really so romantic! Then you'll know for sure." He replied.

"But I won't be a teenager for forever! We'll forget!" She said.

"I'll remember." Sora said stubbornly.

"You're funny, Sora. I'm glad you're my friend." Kairi smiled. Sora beamed back.


	2. Chapter 2

It was Friday.

It was 2:55pm.

And it was the last day of school for the year.

Kairi walked out of her classroom and grabbed her bag, before heading to the school gate, where her friends were waiting.

Long gone were the days of fighting bugs with twigs in the bushes – Sora, Kairi and their friends were in high school now. Tidus and Wakka excelled at sports, Selphie played guitar, Riku and Sora competed in everything they did, and Kairi liked to sit and draw. They were all inseparable.

And today, to celebrate the end of school, they were all going to the beach. The threat of rain didn't stop them – they were going to get wet swimming anyway. They caught a bus down to the foreshore, where a park stretched alongside the coast.

Finding a bench under cover to keep their bags, the six quickly got ready to swim, charging down to the water, screaming like mad. Tidus had brought a ball, and soon they were chest-deep in the waves, tossing the ball back and forth.

"Next year's the last year for you guys." Tidus observed, addressing Riku and Wakka.

"Yup." Wakka grinned, bouncing the ball on his head before passing it to Kairi. "Just one more year, an' then we're out!"

"Yeah, and then you'll have to behave like a responsible adult." Selphie teased.

"The world'll end when that happens." Riku smirked, joining in the teasing. Wakka looked indignant for a moment, before laughing.

"Hey, I'm not that bad! Who was just named captain of the soccer team for next year, huh?"

"That's not 'cos you're responsible, that's 'cos you're the only guy on the team in grade twelve next year!" Tidus said, splashing water towards Wakka, who retaliated swiftly. Soon the ball floated nearby, forgotten, as everyone splashed and kicked the water, laughing and squealing.

After a few minutes the splashing died down, the six teenagers stopping to catch their breath and wipe their eyes.

"Hey! I have an idea." Selphie said. "Let's do that thing where you sit on someone's shoulders and wrestle!"

"Yeah!" Tidus agreed enthusiastically.

"Bags Riku!" Selphie squealed, swimming over to him and ducking him under the water to sit on his shoulders. Sora grinned at Kairi and lay low in the water, and she climbed up to sit on his shoulders.

"Bad move, Selphie," Wakka said. "Riku's tall, so there's more of him out of the water to push over than me or Sora."

"We'll see," Selphie replied. "And Tidus, you have to be careful or me and Kairi will punch you."

"What? Why?" Tidus asked from his seat on Wakka's shoulders. The girls just gave him a long look.

"Aw, man, come on, it's not like I would – mean to! It's wrestling, what do you expect?"

"A punch to the gut if you're not careful." Selphie said matter-of-factly. Kairi giggled, and Tidus groaned.

"Sora! Switch with me?"

"Too late, man. You're going down!" Sora called back, moving towards the two boys and making a grab for Wakka's wrists, while Kairi gave Tidus a push that forced him back for a moment, before he sat up straight again, trying to find a way to push her back without being hit.

For a few minutes they pushed each other into the ocean, Tidus getting hit (unfairly, in his opinion) three times, before the grey clouds overhead burst with rain. Kairi gasped as the ice cold drops stung her bare shoulders, quite different from the warm sea water.

"How the heck is it so cold?" Tidus said, falling off Wakka's shoulders to avoid another hit.

"I don't know, but it's freezing!" Kairi exclaimed. "I'm gonna head out until it's over." She slipped off Sora's shoulders and sank down into the warm water for a moment, before standing up again.

"C'mon, Kairi, it's not that heavy." Wakka said.

"Not yet, but look at the clouds." She replied, pointing back over the town to where darker clouds were slowly rolling out to sea.

"Okay, we'll stay in a bit longer." Said Riku. Kairi began walking towards the shore.

"Wait!" called Sora. "I'll come with you!"

"You sure?" asked Kairi, pausing.

"Yeah! I can't wrestle anyway without a partner, and it is pretty cold now!" He beamed as he caught up with her, grabbing her hand and pulling her along through the water. She giggled as they splashed through the water, finally reaching the sand, then racing across the grass towards the covered benches.

Before they got even halfway, though, the rain, which had been sparse, began bucketing down. Kairi squealed as the icy drops soaked through her hair and dripped onto her shoulders. Sora pulled her over underneath a huge tree nearby, the large branches protecting them from the majority of the rain.

"I told them it'd get heavier!" Kairi said, blowing on her hands and rubbing her arms.

A drop fell off a leaf high above them and landed on Sora's nose. He blinked in surprise, an old, long-forgotten memory suddenly resurfacing in his mind.

"Hey, Kairi… do you remember when you first moved to town?"

Kairi scrunched up her nose in thought. "Vaguely. That was nine years ago! Why?"

"I just remembered something! I made you a promise when we became friends!"

Kairi tilted her head, thinking. "About what?"

"Well, it was raining, at school, and we were stuck somewhere, and you said something about-"

"About a girl being kissed in the rain." The memory was foggy, but Kairi could remember some of it.

"Yeah! That's right. You remember!' He grinned. She smiled back, but a blush was creeping up her cheeks.

"Yeah, but it's okay, Sora. We were just silly kids. You… you don't – have to…" she trailed off, not quite able to look him in the eye now.

Sora's smile vanished. "But… but I promised!" Kairi giggled a little. She knew how he was about promises. "Unless… unless you don't… want…" Sora scratched the back of his head awkwardly, the realisation of what he was actually saying finally dawning on him. Kairi watched him silently for a moment, before reaching up and taking his hand. Slowly she pulled him out from underneath the tree, the rain still cold but not quite as heavy as it had been a few minutes ago.

"I… I don't _don't_ want…" she said softly, chewing on the inside of her lip a little nervously. Tentatively Sora placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up him with a small smile. At the same time he leaned down and she stood on tiptoes, closing their eyes as their lips touched. Slowly Kairi wrapped her arms around Sora's neck. After a few moments they broke apart, but Kairi pulled Sora down towards her, leaning his forehead on hers. She looked up at him, tiny raindrops sitting on her eyelashes.

"I think… that was definitely very romantic."


End file.
